1986 Grand Marquis

[demons19]

Please bear in mind that I am a total novice about cars........obviously the car is damn near 20yrs old with 130K miles on it. Never had any major issues but in the last year its starting to get old. Gas mileage has been brutal (maybe 10mpg), and its running very rough. You hit the gas and it takes 5-10 sec for it to kick in......My question is, assuming there is nothing major wrong,(driving like this for a year so I doubt it) is this fixable with some sort of "tune up" (whatever that is for this car) or will 20yrs just mean its done. I am caught in a difficult decision because this car is like my child, is it worth looking at and maybe fixing or should you never waste any money on a 20yr old/130K car. It seemed to me that 130K is not that many but that may be for a 1996 and not 86......Any feedback would be appreciated, and I apologize in advance for the childish question but when you know nothing about cars this is what you get. It bothers me to just junk a car that still runs and is serviceable yet its running badly enough for it to be a problem.

[jimmytroanoke]

Start with a compression test. If all is good there, try a MAJOR tuneup. Plugs, wires, Cap, rotor, all filters,pcv, you name it. Clean throttle body, etc. Then see how it is running. Tranny service, change ALL fluids, etc. Inspect and replace all vacuum hoses as on a 20 year old car, that can cause all the symptoms you are talking about. If the check engine light is on diagnose and fix whatever the problem is. Then you will be on your way! Just don't put too much into it as the car is not worth much. I would hate to see you put 3 grand into it and have an accident and have the insurance company give you a check for 600! If you do invest substantial money, keep receipts and records.